The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet has published a ferocious attack on the management of the Oslo Opera by its veteran critic, Professor Ståle Wikshåland.  Under the headline ‘A Ship Adrift’, it attacks the chief executive, recruited from the clothing industry, responsible for removing the artistic leadership, leaving the company without proper direction. Wikshåland writes:

Things have gone wrong again in an attempt to establish a world-class Opera… On Friday afternoon, before the quiet Whitsun weekend, a press release was sent out by Norwegian Opera and Ballet saying that Artistic Director Per Boye-Hansen was leaving. Not immediately but when his contract expires in 2017. And he was not going voluntarily, but with a heavy heart. He made no effort to disguise that.

… Some of the greatest opera performances I have seen at home and abroad have been under Per Boye Hansen´s leadership here in Oslo. Boye-Hansen has truly built up the opera from the inside out.

The reponsibility points towards: Managing Director Nils Are Karstad Lysø. He has maintained a low profile since coming from Moods of Norway (a fashion manufacturer and retailer), but he should at least have learned that you do not change the repertoire and the workforce of an opera like you do with fashion collections…

The timing points to Lysø, rather than the Opera´s board under Ellen Horn which is finishing its term of office next week. So once more attention has to be directed at the way the Opera is run. And it has come in for hefty criticism from this newspaper, and from Boye Hansen himself before he became Artistic Director.

The model where the Managing Director is the ultimate boss is unusual, and it has only worked two places I know. At the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen and at Covent Garden in London. And it has worked because neither of the managing directors have taken it upon themselves to think that it was they who decided on artistic matters. And this is how it still works in Copenhagen and London.

What is Lysø thinking of doing now as boss of the whole outfit? And who are the world-class opera performers he thinks he can bring to Oslo, under the direction of Managing Director Lysø?

oslo opera

Michael Braunfels, whose father Walter was suppressed in  Hitler’s Germany and ignored for decades after, has died in Cologne, aged 98. Michael, a pianist, was a renowned Schubert interpreter. He did much to restore his father’s works to musical attention from the 1980s on.

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Placido Domingo has pulled out of this week’s Traviata for family reasons.

He explains:

domingo abu dhabi

I am very sorry to have to cancel my upcoming performance of La Traviata in London on Thursday, May 28th. I am still in Boston and will remain by my sister María José’s side until she returns to stable condition and comes out of the Intensive Care Unit. I want to thank you all for your patience, your kind understanding and your loving support and prayers.

 

Richard Page, principal bass clarinet with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1978 to 2014, has died of brain cancer, aged 66. A popular man in the orchestra, he was also a busy and influential teacher. Our sympathies to his loved ones.

pittsburgh halls

 

A glimmer of light and happiness from Bologna, where the new US-Italian president of Bologna Football Club, Joseph Tacopina, has launched a US fund-raising campaign on behalf of Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

‘I love the town. I love its theatre,’ he tells the local paper.

Together with artistic director Nicola Sani he has founded a US Friends of the Teatro Communale and will be pushing to raise funds from new sources for the outstanding ensemble.

Can any other opera house call on a football owner for support?

joe tacopino

Ranking educational institutions on merit is never an exact science. We’ve published a few such attempts before. But this latest list from the Guardian newspaper of the ‘top’ places in Britain to acquire a music education seems wider than most of any kind of mark.

It frankly beggars belief to put the Royal College of Music six places above the Royal Academy (pictured). Each has areas of excellence, but most neutral observers would place the Avademy first. And as for putting the University of Surrey above Oxford and Cambridge…. well, you might as well include Hogwarts, which seems to have a more stable future as Surrey embraces a rush of cuts.

Enjoy.

 

1 Royal College of Music 100
2 Edinburgh 99.4
3 Manchester 99.1
4 Surrey 98.8
5 Oxford 95.9
6 Guildhall School of Music and Drama 95
7 Royal Academy of Music 94.3
8 Sheffield 93.1
9 Birmingham 93
10 Southampton 91.9
11 Durham 91.3
12 Cambridge 90.7
13 Nottingham 90.5
14 Birmingham City 88.2
15 Glasgow 88.1
15 Sussex 88.1
17 Newcastle 86.3
18 Brunel 85.6
19 Bangor 84.7
20 Royal Holloway 84.6
21 Royal Welsh College 84.5
22 Bristol 83.8
23 York 83.7
24 King’s College London 83.5
25 City 82.9
26 Goldsmiths 82.8
26 Queen’s, Belfast 82.8
28 Trinity Laban Conservatoire 81.9
29 Leeds 81.5
30 Hull

royal academy of music

 

 

He is launching a piano that combines the power of modern instruments with the transparency of the kind that Liszt played on (coincidentally, I had just contemplated the same topic in a Standpoint essay). Here’s the press release:

barenboim piano

 

Daniel Barenboim unveiled a ground-breaking new piano at a special event at London’s Royal Festival Hall today (12 noon, 26 May, 2015), in advance of his Schubert recital series there.

 

Conceived and commissioned by Barenboim himself, the Barenboim-Maene Concert Grand piano was developed and built by esteemed Belgian instrument maker Chris Maene, with support from Steinway & Sons.

 

The new Barenboim-Maene piano combines the touch, stability, and power of a modern piano with the transparent sound quality and distinguishable colour registers of more historic instruments. While on the outside it does not differ significantly in looks from a modern concert grand, most of its components – including the braces, soundboard, cast-iron frame, bass strings, keyboard and action – have been specially-designed and tailor made, and the positioning of others, such as the hammers and strings, is radically different.

 

Barenboim was inspired to create a new piano after playing Franz Liszt’s restored grand piano during a trip to Siena in September 2011. Struck by the vital differences in sound of an instrument constructed with straight, parallel strings rather than the diagonal crossed ones of a contemporary instrument, he set out to create a brand new instrument that combines the best of the old and the new and offers a real alternative for pianists and music-lovers in the 21st century.

 

Barenboim discussed his idea with Steinway & Sons who introduced him to Chris Maene, who had also wanted to create a brand new instrument inspired by the past. The two maestri were able to combine their respective musical and technical expertise to begin work on their shared vision. Just 15 months ago, Barenboim’s personal technician Michel Brandjes tested several 19th-century historic grand pianos from Chris Maene’s collection and some of the remarkable replicas made by him. His findings and reflections on the sound and technical aspects of the instruments were discussed with Barenboim who then commissioned Maene to work a detailed concept for the new instrument which was then developed, constructed, tested and revealed today.

 

Daniel Barenboim says:

“The transparency and tonal characteristics of the traditional straight-strung instruments is so different from the homogenous tone produced by the modern piano across its entire range. The clearly distinguishable voices and colour across its registers of Liszt’s piano inspired me to explore the possibility of combining these qualities with the power, looks, evenness of touch, stability of tuning and other technical advantages of the modern Steinway. I am so delighted to have worked with Chris Maene, who had the same dream and I must pay tribute to his incredible technical expertise and his deep respect for both tradition and innovation. I must also thank Steinway & Sons, for bringing us together and for delivering key components for our new instrument, thus enabling a perfect match of the traditional qualities and modern advantages.”

 

Chris Maene says:

“All my life I have been building replicas of legendary historic instruments. But for many years I have also been dreaming of building a new type of concert grand. It has always surprised me how the fantastic and unique sound diversity of the grand pianos of the 19th century disappeared. By the end of the 19th century many piano builders tried to copy the success of Steinway & Sons. In this process, they all ignored the straight-strung grand pianos with their unique sound characteristics. As a result, the 20th century offered us very similar instruments in regards of construction and sound. Therefore it has never been my goal to build another copy of a Steinway, but rather to make a different instrument in which I could incorporate all my expertise about building historic instruments. It has been a true honour to be able to work with Maestro Daniel Barenboim. I hold the Maestro in very high regard and was delighted to discover our mutual interest in straight-strung pianos. His input, confidence and order made it possible to build this new instrument: a concert grand for the 21st century. For me it is truly a dream come true.”

 

Slipped Disc editorial:

It has taken the BBC 14 months to replace Roger Wright.

 

roger-wright (1)

That’s about 10 minutes to shoehorn Alan Davey into his role as Controller of Radio 3 – no other candidate received a second interview in a rigged process – and more than a year to find a new head of BBC Proms, a role which Edward Blakeman has deputised capably e new Proms chief,under exacting circumstances.

Davey and the new Proms chief David Pickard will fill Wright’s boots. Blakeman will continue to hold the fort until Pickard, an outsider, learns the ropes.

This is how Tony Hall’s BBC spends the licence fee: more chiefs, fewer Indians.

 

 

In a decidedly left-field appointment, the BBC have named David Pickard, general director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, as the new controller of BBC Proms. Pickard, 55, used to run a period instrument orchestra before he went to Gly. He’s capable, personable, adequate to the task, clued in to the right networks. He comes from outside the BBC loop but he won’t make waves.

Press release follows:

UPDATE: Commentary here.

gly perry

David Pickard has been appointed Director of the BBC Proms, it was announced today.

David, 55, is currently General Director at Glyndebourne and will take up his new role later this year, reporting to Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3.

Edward Blakeman, Director, BBC Proms 2015, will continue to lead the festival throughout this year’s season and ahead of David’s arrival.

Helen Boaden, Director of BBC Radio, says: “David has an outstanding track record in bringing new audiences to classical music, as well as a background in both orchestral and operatic music. I am absolutely delighted he will be working with Alan to build on the success of the BBC Proms. I would also like thank Edward Blakeman for leading the Proms with skill and flair as Director, BBC Proms 2015, and on delivering another excellent programme this year.”

Alan Davey says: “David comes from a background of musical excellence and exploration, and will bring a whole host of fresh ideas to help us ensure the greatest classical music festival in the world continues to provide the place for people to discover and rediscover the best classical music. His achievements at Glyndebourne have included the discovery of exciting new artistic talent and the establishment of a range of new initiatives to bring opera to wider audiences through Glyndebourne’s touring, education and digital activities.

“I would like to thank Edward Blakeman for his work bringing us this year’s season – one of huge musical depth which is proving to be a hit with audiences. He has done a superb job and deserves his place in the spotlight as the season takes us on the fascinating twists and turns we expect from a fantastic Proms season.”

David Pickard says: “I am honoured to be asked to take up the role of Director, BBC Proms, and to follow in the line of such distinguished predecessors. After 14 wonderful years at Glyndebourne, I count myself extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to lead another of this country’s most exciting arts organisations. Like so many people, my interest in classical music was inspired by visits to the Proms as a teenager and it has been my privilege to play a role as a contributor for the past 20 years, firstly with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and more recently with the annual Glyndebourne Prom. I look forward now to building on the founding principles of the Proms – to bring world-class classical music to the widest possible audience.”

 

We have been informed of the death of Dietrich Hahn, long-serving principal clarinet of the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and professor at the Conservatory. His pupils are numerous and far-flung. Professor Hahn was 84.

child clarinet

Who knew the secretary was a composer? He’s my album of the week on sinfinimusic.com.

Very few great composers have been exposed by a private secretary, perhaps because few could afford the luxury of employing one. In Handel’s case we know about his secretary chiefly because the man’s stepson, a churchman known as the Rev. William Coxe, published in 1799 a revealing set of Anecdotes of George Frederick Handel and John Christopher Smith, in which the composer comes over as a gruff brute and the secretary as ‘sincere, benevolent and humane’.

Click here to read more.

handel with manuscript

At one point I caught myself thinking, ‘How did this man ever write four-part motets? He can’t even write basic soprano-bass counterpoint.’ The one time the bass did anything it was that tired descending line borrowed from Meistersinger, which created only a momentary interest of passing dissonance. And that trite scherzo – I spent the whole time wishing Mahler had written it.

Read full (fun) review here.

More, please….

Anton-Bruckner-001